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North America

Luigi's Mansion

by Michael Cole - September 29, 2001, 6:04 pm EDT

TYP Loves Luigi. But does he love Luigi's Mansion? Hell yeah!

The final version of Luigi's Mansion was at the Cube Club for all to play, and I naturally went to it first. Controls have stayed the same, but the details of the game have changed some. Thanks to a good English translation, the true story has emerged: Luigi has won the house in a contest he never even entered, which Gabb finds quite fishy. Mario had visited the house as soon as he heard the news. He never met Dr. Gabb, so he was defenseless and quickly disappeared. Toad had come looking for him, but had no luck, so the runt is now just standing around, waiting for Luigi to save his place.

The visuals look about the same as at E3...but those visuals are great. Luigi now hums and calls out "Mario" whenever A is pushed near nothing. It's great stuff. Also, Luigi's facial expressions are hilarious (especially when he gets a key), and he reacts like the ‘fraidy-cat he is.

Trying to play Luigi's Mansion as if it were the E3 version lead to some amusing results. The controls are the same, but so are some of the rooms and hallways. Unfortunately, the similarities were mostly superficial, so I had some crazy situations. I wont give away any details, but one door that was used right away at E3 was now locked while a certain room had more to do in it. Certain things were not as they seemed anymore. Perhaps the cruelest joke was with the character ghosts. The first I encountered was exactly like the one found at E3, while the second one only looked the same. I spent 5 minutes trying to get the second ghost the E3 way until the nice booth lady gave me a hint. Boy, was I embarrassed ;-)

I really want this game. It may be a little short, but I never mind a short game as long as it is good. If Kirby 64's length didn't piss you off, this is one to get for sure!

Written: 05/19/2001

Luigi's Mansion is my dream come true. Sure, the gameplay isn't exactly what I had imagined way back when, but Luigi is the star! I've decided to give things as they happen.

After a introduction, (which is optional) you get a little practice to hone your ghostbusting skills with the crazy Doctor as your guide. The Doctor talks like a crazy character from Banjo-Kazooie. I had a hard time, as the setting was C-stick for movement and Big stick for the light/vacuum. You suck the vaccum with R, and moving around while doing so can greatly improve its ability. Although I wasn't able to pull it off, I saw some people ROLLING on the ground while attacking a ghost like in a hostbuster movie. Very cool. Now that Jonny has pointed out that the roles of the two analog sticks can be changed, I'll be sure to kick more ghosts' butt today!

The graphics are amazing. The setting is Paper Marioesque: the camera is in a fixed angle, but the world is 3D. Personally, I don't like the look of the HDTV screens--it looks too PC-like. "Sharper" edges look like more rigid lines to me. I prefer the lower resolution with a slightly blurrier effect myself. But the lighting and geometry of the game is amazing! Ghosts are transparent, lights create realistic shadows, and the reflection effects will make you wet your pants.

An interesting feature of the game is the "Ghostometer," which beeps more the closer Luigi is to a spook. It also features a clock, which may prove vital to the gameplay. For instance, you start the demo at midnight, and you have about 2 hours of time to play. I believe this further hints that there is more to the gameplay than they are showing. Ghost-hunting is at night....will Luigi use his jumping skills (which surpass Mario's) during the day? I hope so!

A dozen or so rooms were explorable, excluding the hallways. Many rooms had a unique ghost or ghosts. One had a old "man" in a rocking chair. Another had a "lady" brushing her hair in front of a highly reflective mirror (which reflects everything.) In the nursery, a few aggressive Baby ghosts were waiting for Luigi to try his luck. What happens when poor Luigi gets attacked? In the demo, each assult took away 20 HP points (out of 100,) But I'm sure that the damage will vary in the final version. True to Mario style, you can't get hurt right after being attacked.

Now for the little extras.... One time, in the hallway, a ghost scared the crap out of our favorite plumber. He then crawled on all fours leaning backwards with a priceless expression on his face, backing up into a wall before managing to stand up. Also, when Luigi opens a door, you can see his hand trembling, and I could feel the suspense. Also, as you may have seen in the videos, coins are still a staple. In the demo, all coins came from killing ghosts or a treasure chest that appeared after clearing a room. Being the nut I was, I made sure to look closely at the coin. Sure enough, the coins are GHOST coins, with a Boo featured on the currency. In the full game, you can expect to find coins lying around, and hopefully in ? blocks (please.) When using your vacuum, everything in the room can be shaken and rattled. Although right now it seems to be mostly eye-candy, I bet that moving things with the vacuum will be vital to beating the game.

I'd like to close these impressions with the sound. Sound is excellent. The music is creepy, and even though it seems to be MIDI, it is VERY good quality and doesn't sound like the synthesized stuff people complained about on the N64. Noises, which include everything from the vacuum to the voices, are PERFECT.

I wish more of the game were playable at E3, but the little appetizer I was served was definitely something I thank Mr. Miyamoto for.

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Genre Action
Developer Nintendo
Players1

Worldwide Releases

na: Luigi's Mansion
Release Nov 17, 2001
PublisherNintendo
RatingEveryone
jpn: Luigi Mansion
Release Sep 14, 2001
PublisherNintendo
RatingAll Ages
eu: Luigi's Mansion
Release May 03, 2002
PublisherNintendo
Rating3+

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